Only Human
by orangeraven
Summary: <html><head></head>What if Naruto got away from Obito the night Madara revealed the truth about Itachi to Sasuke? What if Naruto got to Sasuke? Would anything change in Sasuke's cold eyes? I'd like this to be a long story, I reckon it'll be pretty slow at the start until I get into the depth of the story and I have rated it mature for later chapters of glorious smut that I can't wait to write. /grin</html>
1. The prologue

_What if Naruto got away from Obito the night Madara revealed the truth about Itachi to Sasuke? What if Naruto got to Sasuke? Would anything change in Sasuke's cold eyes?_

-

**Chapter one:**

Running.

_Sasuke Uchiha triumphed in the battle, Itachi Uchiha is dead._

Those word's were all it took for Naruto to put a plan into motion, was it the smartest choice he'd ever made? No, probably not. But he wasn't wise and if being wise meant he stood there and did nothing he didn't want to be wise. That's why as he, Kakashi, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Yamato and Shino shot through the tree's at top speed, vastly approaching the black flames - he wasn't with them, only a clone left behind in his place. He was gone long before his friends, long before the flames had spread enough to make a way through, he'd make it... he'd do it. He just had to...

As he burst into the clearing of rubble, the first thing he saw was the Uchiha crest painted on a piece of rock but what he noticed second closed his throat.

Sasuke?!

His mind screamed in desperation and he started scrambling over the rubble, he had to get to him, he had to get to his friend.

Sasuke was spread out on the floor unconscious, along side his older brother Itachi. Itachi's eyes were open, lifeless... they stared at the sky above him and appeared lifeless. Sasuke really had done it... Naruto flashed back to one of his first memories on team Kakashi - Sasuke 'describing' himself and vowing to defeat a 'certain someone' who they had later figured out meant Itachi Uchiha. Now he'd finally done it... how did he feel? how had he done it? What had really happened here...  
>"What did you go through here, Sasuke?" His voice low with an emotional husk.<br>Naruto glanced across from Sasuke at Itachi's face and felt something similar to sadness stir in his stomach, Itachi was a villain, a member of the Akatsuki, evil as far as Naruto was concerned, he'd put Sasuke through all of this pain and agony, taken his family away and left him to rot in his sorrow... but no death made Naruto happy, it just wasn't the right way to feel.

Reaching over Naruto pressed a thumb and forefinger to Itachi's eyelids and forced them to slowly close, there - he looked more peaceful. Satisfied he turned back to look at Sasuke but felt a chill run up his spine when he did - Sasuke's eyes were open, the left one struggling, it weeped with little droplets of crimson, bloodshot and sore.  
>Sasuke looked both shocked and angry to see Naruto leaning over him at this particular moment but was too weak to do anything, he just stared. Hoping the blonde would get the message and hopefully vanish from his sight.<p>

"Sasuke..." Naruto's voice hoarsed; eyes emotive as ever as they shook in their sockets. "You... did it." It was an odd thing to say, especially right now, considering everything they'd been through. "You said this was your goal... you said this was the one thing you wanted to do. Does that mean... does that mean you're going to come back now!?" Naive, Naruto was and always would be naive.  
>Sasuke didn't respond, he continued to stare, unnerving the blonde. "Q-quit staring like that! Say something Sasuke!"<br>But he couldn't, he was lost. His life goal had been to get revenge for the Uchiha clan, yes. But Sasuke hadn't anticipated how he'd feel after; that was still his brother...

_Numb._

But one thing he did know - there was no way in hell he'd be going back with this complete idiot, even now.

"God dammit... Say something cocky, something annoying that pisses me off! You're even more frustrating when you're not speaking Sasuke!" Naruto was yelling.

Why is everything he does so loud?

"Sasuke!"

_Ugh._

"Sh-sh...shut..._up_, l-loser..."

Naruto stopped yelling the instant he heard Sasuke's voice, it was almost as though metaphoric fox ears perked atop his scruffy blonde spikes and he was wagging his tail.

"That's more like it!" And the idiot was grinning at him. Why was he grinning? There was a corpse right beside them, it was raining, the only thing he could smell was the strong stench of blood and smoke from the black flames... He almost wanted to punch that grin right off of his face but he just didn't have the energy.

"Your eye... it's really bleeding Sasuke," Naruto frowned as the grin slipped from his tan face. His whiskers always crinkled when he frowned. To Sasuke's dismay Naruto shuffled up some on his knees and reached up to push some of his hair out of the way of his face, Sasuke felt the tug as some of the hair was pulled off of dry blood on his skin. He didn't want Naruto here, he never wanted Naruto here, why couldn't he just...

His thoughts were interrupted as Naruto ripped off his kunai pouch attached to his leg and chucked it away, using the bandage that resided there to tie it around Sasuke's head, covering that eye in particular, blood was quick to seep through but it was something. His eye felt like it was on fire, burning. But with the bandage over it, it eased off a little. He could be grateful for that much but right now he just didn't care...

"**Leave**..." Sasuke grunted. "I don't..._want_ you...here-"

"_Tch_, you never want me around, you bastard! Just shut up for once, would 'ya-tebbayo!" Sasuke was so frustrating. Why couldn't he see that all Naruto wanted to do was help? Help him clear his head, get his feet back on the ground, make him see sense, save him from his own foolishness. Even now... it didn't need to be too late!

But before Naruto could say anything more, there was the sound of a gush of wind somewhere behind him, his eyes widened. He'd spent too much time talking... he should have just grabbed Sasuke god dammit!

"Ah... so this is where you got to..." Someone giggled from behind.

_Tobi._


	2. The beginning

Naruto's arms rose swiftly, readying himself to use a substitution jutsu at the drop of a hat but it was too late; Tobi's only visible eye seemed to smile behind the mask... The next thing Naruto felt was an intense pain in the back of his neck and he slumped forward, unconscious...

*  
>Somewhere he could hear water running, heavy water... rain. On recognizing the sound Naruto suddenly felt very cold, tremors rushed over his pimpled skin in his subconscious before his eyes snapped wide open. Those wide eyes shot left, right and center in their sockets trying to make out his surroundings, as far as he could gather he was lying face down in the dirt and Sasuke was no where to be seen...<p>

A crunch could be heard within Naruto's mouth as his jaw locked, teeth scraping together. "A-again... I couldn't keep a hold of him, Sasuke..." His voice hoarse, throat tight with the agony he couldn't bear - but he did bear it, every single day. And he'd continue to bear it... until he got that stupid bastard back where he belonged!

His passionate thoughts re-kindled the flame inside Naruto, it battled against the rain that fell heavy on his head, it'd soaked him through, he didn't know how long he was lying there for. But he couldn't stop shaking; his muscle stiff, like ice. But with the thought of Sasuke held strong in his mind, the muscles in his arms began to move and then he was on his feet... Sasuke couldn't be far, could he?! He'd find him... He had to!  
>Something else came to Naruto's attention then; footsteps, voices, different chakra's he recognized instantaneously but one more so that everyone else's - <em>Sakura's!<em> The group were vastly approaching but he had to do this on his own! With a sharp look over his shoulder into the distance where his friends were coming from, he turned forward once again and pushed himself into a jog.

_It was in that time that Sasuke becoming burdened by an even greater suffering; the truth. The truth of his elder brother Itachi. In some respects, Sasuke might have wished he'd never known. The heartache his poor brother must have endured, all those years... It ripped Sasuke apart and he was plunged back to the day of the attack in the Uchiha compound, his young legs stumbling as they ran through the once busy streets, filled with smiling Uchiha's. Those streets now splattered with the blood of every one he knew, every familiar face... even down to the innocence of the cats. They all got it... how it would have tortured Itachi to do such a thing, his Itachi... his older brother! How dare the leaf put someone through something so horrific... how fucking dare they._

Naruto felt like he'd been running for days without stopping, throwing his exhausted body through the thick forest, over waterfalls, rivers, even through a small village... He didn't know where he was going but he did at the same time. He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up for, his chakra levels were reaching zero and so was his energy. But just when he began to consider pausing for rest by a steam and building up a little campfire to eat for the first time in twelve hours he burst into a clearing just at the right time. He couldn't believe it, how had his instincts actually brought him here when they never had the dozens of times before?! But right before him, Sasuke was walking out of what appeared to be a cave, towards a cliff... The sun was heavy in the sky, illuminating Sasuke's pale face with a tint of gold from it's fire. The water below the cliff lit up, gleaming the entire area in many shades of red and orange...

Something was different about Sasuke, Naruto couldn't make it out but it was in his eyes. Something had changed... "He's..." He muttered under his breath as he quickly jumped to the nearest tree, slipping behind it and pressing his back into the wood of the giant oak to camouflage himself.

_He's crying..._

Naruto had never seen Sasuke cry, ever. It was the ugly sort of crying too like what you did as a child, those wretched, noisy sobs. It pained him to watch, hurt him to hear... he had to force himself to not look away - if he did, Sasuke might vanish from his sight again.  
>The blonde's head turned to the left when he heard voices approaching nearby. Belonging to who he recognized as Sasuke's 'new group' - Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo. His veins burned at the concept of his friend being on a new team, he didn't know why, maybe he was just being too possessive, after all he didn't own Sasuke, no one owned him.<p>

_But Sasuke is..._

If he didn't get to Sasuke now before those annoying bastards, he'd lose his chance! He had to! He had to...

Naruto must have been crazy, everything he'd learnt about stealth and the art of deception growing up vanished from his stupid head as he shot out into the clearing; his ninja sandals padded loudly on the dirt, swishing the grass in disarray as he ran due to the amount of speed he was hacking up behind him, he grit his teeth as he got closer to his friend.

Sasuke didn't react as sharply as he normally would have, his guard down, he was vulnerable - it wasn't a habit of his to cry. In fact he hadn't since he was little, this would be the first time in a very long time.  
>His tears altered his vision. All he could see was something orange... but that was enough. What Sasuke didn't expect was for the orange blur to wrap an arm around his waist and smack a hand over his mouth before throwing them both forward and off the cliff...<p>

It was reckless, stupid, irresponsible but this was _Naruto Uzumaki_.

What the hell is this fucking loser thinking?! Sasuke's mind soared with rage as both their bodies hit the surface of the water below with a loud splash. But Naruto was quick to react, kicking upwards and yanking himself and Sasuke - who really didn't want or need the help - to the surface. He threw his head out, blonde hair spraying around him like a lion's mane, it stuck to his tan skin.

"What the hell do you think you're _doing_, Naruto?" Sasuke's voice was dark. "What makes you _think_ you can come anywhere near me?"  
>"Oh man, would you shut <em>up<em>!" Naruto barked back, cutting Sasuke off before he could blurt a load of abuse - some thing's didn't change, power and age could not take their banter away, it would always be the same and it was the one thing that kept Naruto holding on when he knew he should stop, he'd known it for some time. Sakura - who loved Sasuke deeply - was beginning to mature regarding Sasuke's situation, Naruto could see it in her eyes. She was realizing that they couldn't go on like this anymore, enough was enough... But he wouldn't... he couldn't!

"Oi, Sasuke! Where 'ya go man?!" Suigetsu could be heard calling from above them at the top of the cliff.

_Oh shit._

Naruto hadn't thought this far and Sasuke seemed to notice that too. "Looks like your master kidnap plan has gone to shit... as usual _Naruto_." His sinister voice snarled, mocking him with those dark, onyx eyes. With just a look, Sasuke could ruffle Naruto's feathers and get under his sun kissed skin. "Why don't you just give up and stop wasting your breath, whether you could get me to come back to the leaf or not... haven't you figured it out yet? It would make my life a _misery_. If you care so damn much... why don't you just let me go!?"

Naruto's eyes grew wide; he'd never considered that concept, never thought of it that way and he most definitely hadn't heard Sasuke say much more than a few words to him in all these years, it prickled him with uncertainty... Had he been so stupid to think Sasuke was just lost and couldn't find his way back?! No... Sasuke did want to come back, he had to... it was his home! Where he was born... where all his friends were! His team... Sasuke had to...

"Sasuke where have you gone!?" Juugo yelled loudly.  
>"Oh my man does like to vanish on us a lot doesn't he..." Karin pouted.<br>"He's not your man Karin, like he'd touch you with even the tip of that sword of his." Suigetsu sneered.

Naruto watched in slow motion as Sasuke's eyes rose to the top of the cliff and his lips parted to call to them, tell them where he was...

_No! Please Sasuke... I'm so close! Please don't-_

And that moment was the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. As Naruto acted on impulse as he always had, he'd done the only thing he felt he could at the time. Both his tanned hands had grabbed either side of Sasuke's neck, Sasuke had rose his own hand to punch him in the face when Naruto's hot lips crashed into his.

_I know it's taking a while to get into the swing of things so I'm going to try and update faster at the start to get to the level I want to with this story, I'm finding it a little difficult at the minute as I want the events to be similar to the series' but have this significant change be a little change in our Sasuke too - please bear with me if it seems to be drawn out too much!_ ;u; - **orangeraven**


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